Elon Musk Calls for Wizards of the Coast to "Burn in Hell" Over Making of Original D&D Passages

Elon Musk, the owner of the app formerly known as Twitter, is calling on Wizards of the Coast and its parent company Hasbro to "burn in hell" for the publication of Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons. On November 21st, former gaming executive turned culture warrior Mark Hern posted several passages from Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons on Twitter, criticizing the book for providing context about some of the misogyny and cultural insensitivity found in early rulebooks. These passages were pulled from the foreword written by Jason Tondro, a senior designer for the D&D team who also worked extensively on the book. Hern stated that these passages, along with the release of the new 2024 Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D's "40th anniversary" (it is actually D&D's 50th anniversary) both "erased and slandered" Gary Gygax and other creators of Dungeons & Dragons.

In response, Musk wrote "Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to trash E. Gary Gygax and the geniuses who created Dungeons & Dragons. What the [naughty word] is wrong with Hasbro and WoTC?? May they burn in hell." Musk had played Dungeons & Dragons at some point in his youth, but it's unclear when the last time he ever played the game.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to trash E. Gary Gygax and the geniuses who created Dungeons & Dragons. What the [xxxx] is wrong with Hasbro and WoTC?? May they burn in hell.

- Elon Musk​

Notably, Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons contains countless correspondences and letters written by both Gygax and Dave Arneson, including annotated copies of early D&D rulesets. Most early D&D rules supplements as well as early Dragon magazines are also found in the book. It seems odd to contain one of the most extensive compliations of Gygax's work an "erasure," but it's unclear whether Hern or Musk actually read the book given the incorrect information about the anniversary.

Additionally, Gygax and Arneson are both credited in the 2024 Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. The exact credit reads: "Building on the original game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and then developed by many others over the past 50 years." Wizards of the Coast also regularly collaborates with Gygax's youngest son Luke and is a participant at Gary Con, a convention held in Gygax's honor. The opening paragraph of the 2024 Player's Handbook is written by Jeremy Crawford and specifically lauds both Gygax and Arneson for making Dungeons & Dragons and contains an anecdote about Crawford meeting Gygax.

Musk has increasingly leaned into culture war controversies in recent years, usually amplifying misinformation to suit his own political agenda.

 

[mamba]

I think the criticism is this is 1) a book meant to celebrate D&D, so it might not be the best venue for that discussion

it is not having a discussion, it is a standard disclaimer, like ‘explicit lyrics’ on a CD

3) Not everyone feels the need to have the book hold their hand in this matter

yeah, and somehow the ones against it doing so are the virulent raging misogynists of today, I am sure they only do that because it besmirches Gygax’s memory

 

[Voadam]

Again I could be wrong but I think they are called Goodwives here because of the Goodwives in Scarlett Letter. I don't read it as a commentary on all women, all wives, etc. I read it as a trope a judgmental gossip how enjoys scandal. If I recall they are the ones demanding Hester be punished more harshly. I have't read it since highschool so I may be misremembering but found this passage:

I think it is a quite a jump to go from judgmental puritanical harsh punishment advocate goodwives to 20% chance they will falsely claim rape at any observed offense simply to see drama.

 

[FrogReaver]

Again I could be wrong but I think they are called Goodwives here because of the Goodwives in Scarlett Letter. I don't read it as a commentary on all women, all wives, etc. I read it as a trope a judgmental gossip how enjoys scandal. If I recall they are the ones demanding Hester be punished more harshly. I have't read it since highschool so I may be misremembering but found this passage:

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that context.

 

[Bedrockgames]

it is not having a discussion, it is a standard disclaimer, like ‘explicit lyrics’ on a CD

I think many of those who remember the explicit lyrics label being introduced in the wake of the 80s hearings still have a negative feeling about it. But this is both a disclaimer and discussion of the text. It isn’t a simple label

yeah, and somehow the ones against it doing so are the virulent raging misogynists of today, I am sure they only do that because it besmirches Gygax’s memory

No they aren’t. There are jerks in both camps that will make this conversation unpleasant for everyone. But simply not believing in the utility of disclaimers and wanting to be free to make up your own mind about media content does not make one a misogynist

 

[mamba]

I think @Maxperson has made his position pretty clear(and he isn’t on trial for anything here). His position has definitely been different than mine, which is more of a defense. He seems to agree on some points about historical context but he is saying he thinks Gary was sexist

I know what he wrote, I summarized it in the post before the one you quoted.

I am not putting him on trial, I am trying to make him see where what he writes is not just an innocent ‘and this is some context to help you understand how Gygax became that way’ when that very same ‘context’ is the primary argument for why he should be excused for being a sexist or even to not be considered one

 

[TiQuinn]

I agree it is a danger. You wouldn't want to make the argument that "oh Hitler was just a product of his time" for example. I think here though I really do see Gygax much more in the light that I would see an elderly relative

I think the problem with that particular example is because obviously everyone seems saintly in comparison. I don’t believe we have to go that far. Gygax wrote what he wrote. It’s fair for people to hold him to his word, and not claim the words meant something different in the 70s or 80s when they clearly didn’t.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that context.

Again I am not saying I am right. This has just always been my assumption about what it was based on

 

[mamba]

simply not believing in the utility of disclaimers and wanting to be free to make up your own mind about media content does not make one a misogynist

agreed, but look around at the company you are having then. Musk, Grummz, … just haven’t heard anything from Andrew Tate yet

 

[Bedrockgames]

I think it is a quite a jump to go from judgmental puritanical harsh punishment advocate goodwives to 20% chance they will falsely claim rape at any observed offense simply to see drama.

Again, I said I could be wrong. But it is what leapt to mind. Personally I don’t think it is too big a leap. You are talking about the puritans, and that is naturally going to connect to false accusations of the Salem Witch Trial period. I mean they want her forehead branded and they seem to enjoy the idea. And the passage even mentions gossips

 

[TheRottenPixie]

Haven’t read the book and probably won’t, so I can’t comment on the criticism. But this seems like Musky wanted to cause up some culture war drama as a distraction.

Couldn’t possibly imagine why/s